Samantha Bee Apologizes For Description Of Ivanka Trump After White House Calls It ‘Vulgar And Vile’
Full Frontal host Samantha Bee issued a statement Thursday in which she apologized for an attack on Ivanka Trump that shocked both fans and critics of her show. Her comments about Ivanka came in the wake of a snap that drew criticism from celebrities and other people who were outraged by recent reports that the Office of Refugee Resettlement lost track of 1,500 immigrant children in the last three months of 2017. The snap showed a photo of Ivanka holding her son. In her Wednesday monologue, Bee first praised the photo, calling it “beautiful” but then launched into Trump by saying, “do something about your dad’s immigration practices you feckless c—!” She continued with, “Put on something tight and low cut and tell your father to f—ing stop it.” Samantha’s monologue was uploaded to YouTube uncensored.
Many on social media called for Bee to be fired and her show canceled like Roseanne Barr was earlier this week after a tweet that was widely viewed as racist. It stirred up discussions about whether there is a double standard for offensive remarks in television, according to Fox News, with people pointing to Barr’s racist comments as well as the fact that Keith Olbermann routinely uses profanity to describe President Trump.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke out against Samantha’s monologue Thursday. The Wrap reports that she called Bee’s language “vile and vicious” and “not fit for broadcast.” She described the silence of left-wing media as “appalling” and called for TBS to take action to show that they do not condone using such language to describe the women working in the Trump White House.
TBS Scrubs Samantha Bee's Entire 'Feckless C–t' Episode From the Web (Video)#FullFrontal https://t.co/ZN915jqB3q pic.twitter.com/n0Qf8O9frN
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) May 31, 2018
Dan Gainor, Vice President of Business and Culture for Media Research Center, commented on the apparent double standard.
“Immediately after the media correctly criticized Roseanne Barr for a racist statement, Samantha Bee tries to outdo her by calling Ivanka Trump the ‘C’ word. Imagine if a conservative did this to Chelsea Clinton or to the Obama daughters. We’d never hear the end of it.”
In her apology, Bee expressed regret for “using an expletive” to describe Ivanka Trump, calling her choice of words “inappropriate and inexcusable.” She ended with, “I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.” TBS, who broadcasts Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, issued their own statement in which they acknowledged Bee’s statement as “the right action” and calling her language “vile and inappropriate.” TBS also indicated that they realized they were at fault as well, apologized for airing Samantha’s vulgar words, and removed the episode from the internet.
Bee is scheduled to receive an award Thursday from the Television Academy for “advancing social change” through her show.
